


Gotham's Hellhound

by Sunbell27



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Arkham Series Elements, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Big Brother Dick Grayson, Bruce is trying to be a good dad, Bullying, Cassandra Cain is Black Bat, Damian Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Damian Wayne is multicultural., Demons and Creatures and Spirits OH MY, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Good Big Brother Jason Todd, Gotham City - Freeform, Gotham City is still full of Crime Regardless, He really tries his best, Healthy Coping Mechanisms, Healthy Relationships, Hellhounds, Heroes have flaws just like anyone else, High School is rough, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Jason Todd is an Anti Hero, John Constantine(Eventually), Jon Kent(SuperSons), Lazarus Pits, Mental Health is Very Important, Outlaws(Mentioned), Slow Burn Relationship, Stephanie Brown is Batgirl, Supernatural Elements, Teen Titans(Mentioned), There's more to the Pits than meets the eyes, Tim Drake is Red Robin, Typical Teenagers, Wonder City is underneath Gotham City, but he tries, older!Damian Wayne
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-11-28 22:16:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18214373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunbell27/pseuds/Sunbell27
Summary: Gotham may have it's hero and villains, but it is underneath the reality of Gotham that is dangerous. The supernatural roams the streets and stirs up trouble. With Gotham supposedly being on top of the 'Gates of Hell', A protector of the City must rise and fight for justice and balance. What better creature to fight the supernatural than a Hellhound?





	1. Chapter 1

In the dark of the night, an old house near the edge of Gotham was groaning under its weight. The storm outside wasn't doing it any favors. The harsh wind was hitting the shingles and loose paint on the outside of the house.

It was what going on inside, that was much more...dangerous.

A stealthy young figure slunk through the darkness, dressed in black and combat ready, roaming the house looking for it's target.  

The only thing that was not black was a white mask that covered the face. It was shaped in a mold of a wolf's head. Black, grey, and green vines covered the sides, the ears and went over the eyes and the snout. The nose and mouth were black. The eyes showed glowing green slitted eyes.

"Come out, Come Out… This is ridiculous." a female voice huffed as she carefully slunk around the old corridors of the house.

" _The spirit hides in this place, I can smell it's corruption."_ An alto growling voice echoed in the figure's mind.

The young figure sighed, closing their eyes and opening them again. This wasn't the first time she went on the hunt, there won't ever be a last either.

"Why am I here again? Isn't there others that can do the job better than I can? I don't even get paid for this. " The young voice spoke out with frustration.

" _There are others are already doing their jobs where they are stationed. You should be so lucky to have been accepted to be my vessel."_ The voice sniffed.

" _So lucky…_ "The young woman drawled.

_**5 Years ago...** _

_Pain was all she felt everywhere, pain that she wished she had never had to endure. She had finally managed to get away. She didn't know how long she had been held captive by the men that had kidnapped her. She had been hurt, but she couldn't do anything or else they would find her family and hurt them… maybe kill them._

_She stumbled in the small alleyways of Gotham. Sticking to the shadows and made herself small to be passed over. There were other kids on the street too, most of them from Crime Alley, but she stuck to herself. Avoided any light that might shine on her. She didn't want to be found. Because if she was found… Her mom, her dad, her big brother… they would be killed._

_So to the shadows she stuck to them like they were her lifelines. She didn't know how late it was in the night when she stumbled into the subway. The trains were not running and the place was empty. She rubbed her arms, shivering, crying silently, and she bit her lip to not whine or sob in pain. She heard something. Voices._

_The hairs on the back of her neck stood on their ends. She recognized those voices. The cruel, taunting, and oily voices that washed over her when- She shook her head. She needed to hide, hide, hide. She saw a vent that was broken but it was still nailed on by a single nail. She got on her knees and crawled carefully and quietly over to the vent. She wrapped her fingers over the broken vent and pulled carefully. She heard something groan loudly and the vent broke away from the wall, she accidently let out of yelp as the vent door scratched her arm._

_The voices were coming closer, they held more urgency._

" _There she is!"_

" _Grab Her!"_

" _Don't Let her get away!"_

_She scrambled to get in the vent, nearly managing to get inside when a hand grabbed her thin leg. She screamed bloody murder and kicked at the hand that had grabbed her._

" _NO! I WON'T GO BACK! I WON'T GO BACK!" She managed to kick the owner of the hand in the face, she heard a crunching sound and she felt the hand let go and she scrambled deep into the vent, hearing the voices trying to follow her. She kept going down the dirty vent that was filled with cobwebs and rats. She didn't care. She just wanted to get away from those men. She had to get away._

_She finally managed to get out to the other side and squirm onto the dirty floor of the subway and crawled to a nearby corner. She winced and huddled into a ball and she nearly let out a sob. She took in a deep breath and sighed. She needed to keep going…_

_She got up and winced. She looked down at the leg that was grabbed by that man. A bruise was starting to form and she tentatively placed her bare foot down. She looked up and she found herself in a strange corridor. Looking to her left and saw an abandoned train car. She looked at the tracks and to where it might go, but there was a cave in to where the tracks went. And the door that locked the train car in was sturdy. She won't be taken again anytime soon._

_She wanted to lay down and sleep… so she did just that. She found a few newspapers and laid down on the hard ruined seats and tried to make herself comfortable, closed her eyes and fell into darkness._

_**Present Time** _

The young woman found herself in a rather large room. It looked reminiscent of a dining Area. The place may have looked like it was abandoned in a hurry, but there was a lot of dust and webs everywhere.

"Good thing I'm not allergic to dust." She rolled her eyes as she made her way through the room. The cabinets were holding old china and she briefly thought about stealing some of it to pawn it off for money.

" _Taking from the Dead?" The voice spoke critically._

"Not like they would use it anyways." She muttered as she wandered around the room.

She stuffed her hand in her pocket and took out a large silver pocket watch from the depths. It was a rather hefty size, the size of her palm and then some, with a menacing wolf's head baring its sharp fangs was etched on the front of the watch. It was a necklace of sorts, with a silk emerald green ribbon connected through the top of the watch. It looked like a fragile and fine piece of craftsmanship, but it was created to never break. Supernatural Artifacts like her's are hard to destroy when your life is literally connected to it.

Lightning struck, illuminating the dining room for only a moment.

A click was heard, and a constant ticking was sounded from the pocket watch. It was loud. Much too loud for any normal pocket watch...but this item wasn't normal. The face was see-through, she could see the gears and springs that was inside. They were all working fine. The roman numerals and hands glowed a dim white light showing the time.

The ticking was irregular. As if it was ticking in some twisted type of morse code in rapid succession. She had to learn how this thing was connected to her, in more ways than one.

"It's around here somewhere...not sure where this damned spirit is…" She spoke as she walked around as she placed the watch around her neck.

The lightning struck again, illuminating the room before she felt an invisible force throwing her to the side and making her crash into the old dining table.

Letting out a groan of pain, she quickly got up before she was thrown again, this time into a wall.

" _Really? You are letting a damned soul throwing you around?"_ The voice cackled.

"Oh, shut up." She reached to her side and grabbed her sawed off shotgun, loaded with salt rounds, from her side and aimed at the being in front of her.

It was a ghoulish looking spirit that have been haunting this place for years. This old home was due for a bulldozing, but contractors and the like haven't been able to even get on these grounds because of a few things that kept happening. Such as an infestation of bugs, mice, spiders, and all other sorts of unnatural behaviors of tiny animals coming to the defense of this place.

It looked like a young woman who had been dried up. Long stringy hair went down to her knees, pitch black eyes glowed red in the dark, the corpse-like skin was stretched tight over her skull and her yellowed teeth were bared in a crazed smile. She wore a tattered white nightgown.

She let out an unearthly scream before she flew at the living woman. The young woman took aim and fired at the spirit. The salt rounds hit the spirit and the spirit went flying backwards.

" _Get it before it escapes!"_

She ran towards the ghost and her gloved hands became encased in shadowed claws and reached for the spirits head. She dug her claws into the spirits head, black blood spilled onto the floor, making sure it won't escape and she accessed her powers.

Her body became surrounded by a green and black glow as the spirit howled in pain and wrapped its boney hands around her bare wrists. The boney hands suddenly lit up on fire as the rest of the body.

"Sorry! But it's time to pass on! Heaven Or Hell!" The Masked woman shouted as the spirit dugs her claws into her wrists even more before it suddenly twisted on itself before exploding outward into dust. The shockwave blasted the girl back and hitting a wall, before she slid down and was knocked out.

She didn't realize that while the spirit was set on fire and exploded, the tablecloth on the dining table was lit on fire.

_**Flashback** _

_She woke up, shivering and cold. The newspaper didn't help much to keep her warm. She got up and out of the train car, limping out of it. She needed to get out of here._

_Maybe she could find the police station. She just have to avoid whoever would be looking for her._

_She shuffled her way down a corridor, not really paying attention to where she is going. She passed a wall that had a very old poster on it. Age wasn't kind to it, but she could read it._

" _Meet Solomon Grundy!"_

_She shook her head and she kept walking. She needed to find a place to get help. She was holding herself and limping down a rather warm corridor. Maybe she was close to the outside?_

_She came across a door, nearly rotted off its hinges. She opened it slowly, only for it to almost topple on top of her, she managed to scuttle out of the way as it landed with a loud crash, making her jump out of fright._

" _I really want to go home." She whined and started to cry._

_She closed her eyes tightly, tears running down her face and she entered the doorway. She found herself walking on old wooden boards, so she had to be careful as she traveled._

_She came across another door. This time it looked a bit more sturdy and she opened it up. There was light, although it was dimmed and green. She wondered why it would be such a color, before she made her feet move her further in. She came across some old rickety stairs that lead downward. She didn't want to go down...but she needed to keep moving. She didn't want to be caught again._

_She slowly made her way down the old stairs, the wood groaning under new weight that hadn't been felt in possibly years, and it was still holding up luckily. She managed to go down all 137 stairs and found herself on solid ground. The stone beneath her feet was ice cold, as were her surroundings. She shivered and rubbed her arms so that she can be warm._

_She thought she was close to the outside? Was she going deeper into Gotham's underground or was she getting out? Either way, she moved forward. She came to a fork in the road, so to speak._

_One corridor to the right was dark and there was hardly any light down that way, the left wasn't as good, but had a bit more light. She took the left, thinking that the more light there was, the closer to the outside she would be…_

_She was wrong._

_She didn't know how long she walked with a painful limp. All she could think of was her family. Her sweet dear mother, Her hardworking father, and her annoying older brother. She wanted to be with them again. She promised that she wouldn't run off again like a spoiled brat. That was what got her kidnapped._

_She shuddered again as she went deeper and deeper into the corridor. When she came across a ladder leading upwards. She couldn't cry anymore. The pain in her body dulled her to her emotions and the only thing keeping her going was that she was going home. She will go home come hell or high water._

_She grabbed the ice cold rungs of the ladder and slowly made her way up. The rungs were rusty and she cut herself on a nail once or twice, but she wasn't going to stop. Not when she feels so close to getting outside._

_She reached the top, but she hit something solid. She looked up and saw that it was a circular disk. A Manhole? She held on tight to the rung of the ladder and pushed up with her good arm. She put all her effort into moving the heavy thing to the side, but it was easy once it was sliding off the hole._

_Was she back in Gotham? She climbed up out of the hole and laid down on a cobblestone street. She was tired, in pain, cold, and she was hungry. She was breathing heavy and she had no more tears to cry. She rolled over and with only moving her eyes she looked around. She was surrounded by when looked like old buildings. It reminded her of old west movie buildings._

_The wordings on a sign looked faded, but she could make it out just a bit._

' _Wonder City Jewelry'_

_She blinked once, twice then three times, before a sense of dread entered her body. She got out of the dark corridors of the abandoned subway tunnels, but she ended up in a place that she had only read about in history books._

_Gotham's old city. Wonder City. It was said to have major problems, so it was told in her history books, a supposed alternate energy source (Not mentioned in the books) drove the denizens of Wonder City insane, and so, they quarantined Wonder City, and over the years, Gotham was built over it, becoming a tomb._

_She looked skyward and saw that there were steel and concrete ceiling that spanned the entire city. It was said that it was too risky to tear down Wonder City, and decided to turn it into a catacomb of history that no one should repeat._

_She got up and looked around. The streets were empty, stores looked like they have been frozen in time, there was still things in there that haven't even been sold. She needed to find a way out of here. She wandered the streets until she came across a curious thing. A large pipe._

_Normally pipes were hidden underground, but this particular pipe was up out of the ground. She went to take a closer look at it and saw that there was a sheet of glass that showed a green liquid churning through the pipe._

_She then had an idea! If this pipe can lead her to the outside, she should follow it to the source! She saw that once on tv...maybe it could apply here._

_With a newfound courage, she followed the pipe to where it's source could be, but it only took her closer and closer to a new beginning._

_**Present Time** _

" _Wake up! THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE!"_ The voice shook through her mind and woke her up.

She coughed in some smoke and opened her eyes behind her mask. The voice in her mind was right, the house was on fire and she needed to get out before the firefighters and cops came.

She woozily got up, the heat wasn't bothering her, but she would rather not be burned to a crisp. She stumbled through the burning hallways, narrowly missing a beam that almost fell down on her, but she was lucky. She maneuvered through the fire and managed to get out through the back door of the place near the kitchen and jogged away from the burning house. She hid behind a tree just as firefighters and cops showed up to take care of the fire.

She felt pain in her wrists and she looked at them. There was burned in the shape of hands around her wrists and she rolled her eyes as she groaned.

"Big Brother is not going to like the fact that I'm hurt." She groaned as she looked up at the moon in the sky.

" _It's not the first injury you have ever received. Besides, you'll heal up in a couple of days." The voice chuckled._

"I have school tomorrow, and it will look bad if I show up at school with bandages around my wrists." She muttered back.

" _Make it a fashion statement." The voice smiled._

"Yeah, because emo chic is so in today." She bit back sarcastically, as she walked away from the scene of the crime.

"The spirit has been taken care of. At least it won't bother other people anymore." She spoke as she got closer to the place where she hid her motorcycle.

" _Yes, our job tonight is done. I vote for strawberry Ice Cream as a celebration." The voice spoke with pride._

"I'm not eating ice cream this late at night, I'm going to go home and sleep… we can have ice cream tomorrow." She bargained.

" _And listen to your music too?"_ The voice asked politely.

"I'm still in awe that an ancient being like you likes the modern type of music." The young woman adjusted her mask as she approached her black 2007 ducati motorcycle.

" _I believe it's what you mortals call it, 'Getting with the times.'? I still enjoy older music from older times, but I admit...your music has grown on me." The voice chuckled._

She uncovered her bike and stuck the key in the ignition and revved it up. She pressed the clutch and off she went. She got onto the road and made her way back to inner Gotham. Back to the apartment in where she and her brother lives. Along the way, she could remember when she first met the being that now inhabits her body.

_**Flashback** _

_She followed the pipes of Wonder City and was in awe at how large this place was. Hunger forgotten, she wondered how this city was now a tomb hiding underneath Gotham. She came across skeletons that littered the place, meaning that some of these people must not have made it out before the quarantine. The pipes were leading her to somewhere. She picked up her pace. Maybe she had found a way out?_

_She came across a great gate. It was made of steel and great pillars and a concrete fence blocked it of from the public. She noticed that it wasn't locked. She pushed at the gate and with a groan, it was opened up. She hesitated before she entered. She limped down the broken cobblestones and came across a church. The pipes were leading into it. Outside the church was what looked like two beings. A male and a female, dressed in old armor. The male statue was carrying a smictar and the female was carrying a scythe._

_She gulped. What was a church with pipes of green liquid doing down here?It looked pretty creepy to her, to be honest. She walked up to the door and saw a knocker that seemed to have a head of a demonic like dog. She felt shivers shoot down her spine, but she steeled herself and grasped the chilled doorknob and opened the door. It squeaked open and she walked in._

_The inside was empty of what should look like a church, at the back of the church where she looked, there was a large pool of green water. She walked closer and closer to take a look. She could feel it's warmth coming from the pool. Perhaps it's a natural hot spring? Thoughts of escaping this place gone, as her curiosity got the better of her._

_She walked closer and closer until she reached the edge of the pool. She kneeled by it and she leaned in close to the waters. She could see her reflection. Tangled chocolate hair, dark brown eyes, skin pale from not seeing the sun in forever, she was thinned out since her capture. Her skin had dark bruises and healing bruises on her body._

_The clothes she wore was forced upon her. A slutty type dress that one of the men forced her into was now in shreds. She blinked. She hadn't seen herself in a mirror for a while, but seeing herself like this made her recoil in disgust._

_She stood up and sighed. She needed to leave. She wanted to get out. Just as she turned around, she saw a rat at her feet and she squealed in fright, slipping on the edge of the pool and falling into the waters._

_The shock of the waters enveloping her, forced the water into her nose and lungs. She was drowning. She was a good swimmer, but something about these waters were dragging her down into the dark._

_She didn't want to die! She didn't want to leave this world just yet. She had her regrets. She regretted arguing with her parents, calling her brother stupid. She regretted running off. She regretted that when she planned her escape, she regretted not taking the kids that were also there with her._

_She wished…_

_The waters suddenly felt like she was being shocked to death. Like a toaster was thrown into the waters. She twisted underwater, trying to make sense of where the air was. Then the shocks went away, she felt her body sinking dowards head first._

_She opened her eyes as saw a pocket watch. It was floating downwards with her. It was connected with a green ribbon, making it look like a necklace. The front of the watch had a wolf's face in front baring its teeth._

_She heard a low voice in her head._

" _ **Do you wish to live?"**_

" _I want to live. I don't want to die." She wearily replied in her mind._

_Was this part of dying? Hearing things that shouldn't be there? Maybe this would be easier for her to die if she just went along with the voice._

" _ **Reach out, child. If you wish to live, but your life will never be the same again."**_

" _I don't care… I want to see my mom, my dad, my brother...I don't care what it takes." She replied as she reached out for the pocket watch with both hands and grasped it and pulled it close to her body._

" _ **What is your name?"**_

_She said her full name._

" _What's Yours?"_

_The voice spoke back._

" _I accept…" She spoke back._

_The last thing she saw, was a great beast of a dog, or wolf, or whatever it was. It had fur as black as the void, teeth white as ivory and as sharp as knives, claws like white spears. It was deadly as it was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen. Its eyes was green as the waters around her, glowing with power. It lifted it's head and let out a triumphant howl._

_She blacked out._

_She was found on the edge of Slaughter Swamp. She didn't know how she ended up there. Some stupid teenagers went there on a dare and had found her. They called GCPD and an ambulance._

_She remembered seeing blurred faces as she was being taken to the hospital. She was in great amounts of pain that she moaned and cried in pain. Her body felt like it was burning up._

_She could hear the paramedics talking._

_"Young Female, Age approx. 10 years old, running a fever and suffering from body trauma." One paramedic rattled out._

" _Her fever is too high! At this rate we won't make it!" The female paramedic told her colleague._

" _Keep pressing ice on her. We are almost there!" The male ordered as she could feel a cold relief on her forehead for only a minute._

_Everything was a blur. She could remember hearing nurses and doctors taking her to the ICU. Her eyes were open, but instead of hearing voices of the doctors...she heard something in her mind… it was low and comforting._

" _ **You'll be fine...I promise."**_

_She had blacked out again. It wasn't until three days later that she woke up to her family being there at her bedside with sad faces. When she spoke, they all became teary and crying tears of joy. She had cried with them, promising that she would never run off again, apologizing over and over again._

_She stayed up for quite some time talking with her family, but she refused to speak about her kidnapping. The doctor suggested therapy to assess her mind and see if she wasn't unstable. She had agreed, but only because if she didn't she would be sent to Arkham Asylum temporarily if she refused._

_It was the fourth night when she was alone in her hospital room when the great beast of a wolf-dog came from the shadows. She would have screamed. She should have screamed. But she didn't. The being came closer to her, touching foreheads with her gently, her glowing green eyes boring into her dark brown ones._

" _ **I am Kritanta, and you are mine."**_ _It spoke before it melted into shadows and it covered her body._

_She panicked briefly as the shadows sunk into her skin. She felt warm as it was doing so. The shadow's felt like silk on her skin before it was absorbed into her body. It felt like something was settling in her like a second skin. The pocket watch that she had grasped in the waters was now around her neck, settling comfortably on the top of her sternum._

" _ **You shall make a fine vessel. I have high hopes of teaching you to work with me."**_ _the being spoke in her mind before quieting._

_Her life was forever changed._

_**Present Day** _

She pulled up to the nice apartment complex and parked her bike in the parking garage. She took off her mask and her hood and sighed. She hooked the mask onto her hip and walked up the stairs. She noticed her reflection. Instead of the dark brown hair that she once had, she had it dyed black. Her dark brown eyes were sharp and alert, and there slivers of emerald green in them, making them look much more exotic.

She entered the building and went to apartment 416, the apartment that she and her brother lives in. She took out the keys to the apartment and opened it up. She made sure to lock the door behind her and groaned softly as she stretched herself out. Being thrown around by a spirit was hell on the muscles.

"Elliot...I'm home." She smiled as she heard footsteps running towards her.

"Sophia Marie Wolfram! It is late as hell and why were you out this late at night!" She heard the voice of her brother charging into the living room where she took a seat on the busted couch.

Her brother was a tall man. He had wavy brown hair and sharp blue eyes. He had freckles dotting his face and he was shirtless and wearing sweats that said 'Gotham U' on on of the legs.

"I had to take care of a damned spirit. No Biggie." She said as she reached for a water bottle that was on the coffee table in front of her, she opened it up and took a swig.

"I thought Kritanta knew it was a night to rest. You have school in the morning!" Elliot sighed as he sat next to her.

A little dark shadow popped up from the inside of Sophia's hoodie. It looked like a puppy's head. It had glowing green eyes and it was smiling wickedly.

" _Our work destroying evil spirits is never done."_ The little shadow spoke.

"It's not Kritanta's fault...I did some research of anything out of the ordinary and this house popped up. Figured that It must've been haunted and I took care of it." Sophia smiled as she took another drink of water.

Elliot spied her wrists and gently grabbed her arm to examine it. He sighed, leaned forward towards the coffee table and popped open a door full of medical supplies.

"You got burned. And tomorrow is your first day of school." He muttered as he grabbed the burn ointment and gauze.

"Well...good thing I have you around." She smiled.

Elliot shook his head with a smile and started to work on his baby sister.

"Well, I did say I was going to stick by you for this, but next time… be home by eleven. I nearly had a heart attack when I didn't see you in your bed." He pleaded.

"No promises, but I'll try." She smirked at him.

"Just because you have powers, doesn't mean you can't live a normal life. I'm your big brother, let me be one damn it." He cursed.

Sophia softened and nodded. She was no Superman, or Batman, or even Wonder Woman. She was just a human who had an unfortunate accident when she made a mistake. That mistake made her who she is now.

Gotham's protector from the dark and supernatural. Whether it be vampires, demons, or spirits that haunt Gotham at its heels, she would be there to destroy those who dare threaten the real world at large. The supernatural better watch out and not come to her city.

After all… Gotham has a guard dog, and she is…

Hellhound.


	2. Chapter 2

Waking up is not easy for Sophia to do when she had just taken care of a corrupted spirit the night before. She wondered if the heroes of the world all have this kind of problem. After all, if crime never sleeps, they must be going on at least two hours of sleep max.

"Ugh…" She moaned and placed a pillow over her head.

" _Get up! It is time for learning!"_ Kritanta spoke taking brief control over her body to make her get up.

"Ten more minutes…" Sophia said as she felt her body being controlled to get up and make her way to the bathroom.

Her hand reached up to hit the light switch which blinded her for a second or so and she hissed at the intrusion of light.

" _I thought you were excited for the beginning of a new school year? Do you not want to go to this 'Gotham College' that you speak of?"_ Kritanta questioned.

"I just don't like mornings…" Sophia said as she stood in front of the mirror of the bathroom.

Her black hair was all tangled up, she seemed to have dried drool on her face, there was gunk in her eyes from the restless sleep she had, and her pajamas were all askew on her body.

In short, she looked like a crazed inmate from Arkham Asylum.

"Don't I look lovely?" She muttered as she started to shed the pajamas off her body.

If she was going to get up and get ready for school, she was going to take a shower beforehand. She stripped off her pajamas and saw that she had a bruise on her shoulder from hitting the wall the night before.

"No wonder I feel sore today." She said as she yawned.

She carefully unwrapped the bandages that were on her wrists, and she winced as the bloodied bandages came off revealing the hand shaped burns that was around her wrists. It was starting to scab over but there was still a bit of raw flesh that was still healing up.

"Ouch…" She muttered.

" _We need to work on burning away spirits, without burning yourself. You are almost getting the hang of it."_ Kritanta snickered.

"Laugh at my pain, why don't ya?" Sophia muttered back.

She turned on the water and pulled the pin for the shower head. If the water was too warm, she would fall asleep… So she tweaked the know for cold water and stepped in.

" _WHY IS IT COLD!?"_ Kritanta shuddered in her mind and as soon as she said that a shadow-like substance raised from every pore of her body from her skin and slithered out of the shower, taking on a solid shadow-like form of a very big, very feral like wolf-dog Hellhound.

" _That is COLD! Who are you? Mr. Freeze?"_ She snarled, baring her white fangs, as she laid down on the bathroom floor.

"I have to wake up somehow." She chuckled as she grabbed her orange oil shampoo and cleaned her hair with it.

She made sure to shave her legs and armpits. In the slightly cold water, it was easier to shave. She turned the water up a little to luke warm when she washed her body with body wash, careful to scrub lightly on her wrists, She finished off with washing her face and behind her ears with a face cleanser, leaving her face tingly and fresh.

She opened up the curtain and stepped out onto the neon green fuzzy and ugly looking bath mat that caught the water running down her legs. She twisted her hair to wring out the majority of the water from it, before grabbing a towel and wrapping it into it to dry.

She wrapped another towel around her body, avoiding the large Hellhound that was lying on the floor, and got in front of the mirror. She wiped away the steam and she looked mostly human now.

All she had to do was put on makeup, do her hair, and get dressed.

"What time is it, Krit?" She asked as she grabbed her eyeliner, eyeshadow, and mascara.

Kritanta looked at the small LED clock that was on the bathroom counter and spoke, " _It is 5:30."_

"Good, plenty of time to get ready and walk to school." Sophia remarked.

She carefully put on her eye makeup with finesse and made sure to accent the color in her eyes. Simple is good for now. Afterwards, she took off her towel as her body was dry, and put on her underclothes before she put on her school clothes.

Pale blue cotton underwear, and similar matching t-shirt bra was put on, after that, she put on a white undershirt to that the color of her bra doesn't bleed through. She put on the white blouse and buttoned it up, then put on a modest white half slip on then a khaki skirt that reached her knees, calf high white socks, and brown penny loafers.

" _Now the rough part…"_ She sighed to herself.

She took off the towel off her head and her hair was still a bit damp. It reached down her back and she has contemplated more than once to cut it all off. She grabbed a hair oil bottle and pumped it three times to get the amount needed for her hair. The orange scent calmed her and she rubbed the oil in her hands first, before running it through her hair from the roots to the tips. She had to do another pump of three to make sure the oil was distributed throughout her damp hair. It was to protect her hair from heat and frizzing, the added bonus was that it also deep conditioned.

She shook her head and grabbed her hair dryer, plugged it in, and turned it on a medium setting. She didn't want to fry her hair. She dried her hair until it was slightly damp and silky smooth.

" _You take too long doing your hair, child."_ Kritanta huffed.

"I like my routines, Krit." Sophia smiled as she pulled her long hair into a double waterfall braid around her head, before pulling her hair up into a bun to keep her hair out of the way.

Stylish, sleek, and cute at the same time.

She looked at herself in the mirror and turned around admiring herself. She wasn't vain, far from it, but she wanted to make a good impression on her first day of school. This is no normal school that she is going to, oh no.

She was going to Gotham High Prep Academy.

It's one of the hardest schools to get into. Applications to get in were scarce, and the entrance test was almost college level.

Just because she prowls around at night hunting for corrupted spirits and the occasional demon that comes out, doesn't mean that her education has to suffer. Before she was kidnapped, before she became Hellhound, she wanted to become a teacher to school kids. Especially to underprivileged children in poorer areas.

Well that dream died. Public school became a painful reminder of her used-to-be friends and peers only knew her as 'The Girl Who Got Kidnapped'. She couldn't function around them anymore. She hated being touched by anyone who wasn't her family member, hated being asked questions about her 6 month hell, and the worst part of it all was that she had a slew of problems that came since she escaped.

She had become anti-social. She lost friends that she had been with since kindergarten. She didn't trust any authority with the exceptions of the very, very, few. She became an outcast at the public school. Keeping to herself and the being inside of her.

The years of therapy she had been going through, (She had her therapist on speed dial), the prescriptions that she will take to help her focus and stay sane, the support system she has (Her brother was her solid tie to the real world and the only person who knew of her and the being inside of her), and the coping mechanisms of a beauty routine, fashion, and parkour training.

It was the same kind of routine that she had followed since her therapist suggested it. A routine that she can have control over. When her Therapist suggested a form a exercise to help her, she went to parkour. Honestly it was a bonus for her since she needed to learn how due to the powers she wielded.

These were the things that kept her from spiraling into a self pitying loathing and depression. These were a few ways to keep her sanity. Being a Hellhound on top of it all gave her a purpose in life to leave her past behind. It was difficult, but she would make it.

This school year was going to be different. She was going to get involved again. They even have a track and field program that she could try out at. She still had a pit in her stomach. What if this school is just like the rest?

" _You are thinking too deeply again, Sophia. You are shaking."_ Kritanta spoke as she stood up on all fours.

The bathroom was a bit small, to be expected, but Kritanta stood beside her, her height almost to her elbow. If she were to walk out with her, people would think that she was some sort of exotic species of big dog.

Sophia raised her shaky hand and placed it on Kritanta's head and rubbed it. For her own comfort rather than Kritanta's.

She looked at her reflection. She looked young even with the makeup on. She took a deep breath and counted to ten. She looked like the typical teenager, but her eyes…

The dark brown eyes held the bright green glints of the Lazarus Pit waters.

She shook her head before she reached underneath the sink for medical supplies. She grabbed the big tool box that she had put under there and opened it up. It had practically everything in there, short of IVs and blood packets. She grabbed a tub of burn cream, opened it up and slathered the cooling cream on her wrists. She really hoped that it wouldn't scar. That would be unfortunate.

After putting on the cream, she carefully wrapped the crisp white bandages around her wrists. She made sure that it didn't bundle up and she wrapped it snuggly.

After she was done, she tied them off and observed them. Her hands looked like she was getting ready for boxing. At least she might be able to get away with that.

Now it was time to go to breakfast, and she needed her medication.

"Okay, lets go." she smiled as she turned and left the bathroom.

As they walked down the short hallway, Kritanta then jumped up, put her front paws on her shoulders turning into a mass of shadow and sunk herself into Sophia's body through her clothing. Sophia couldn't stop herself from shuddering a little. After 5 years of having Kritanta being a part of herself is something that she is still getting used to.

She entered the kitchen in which her brother was already up and dressed for his work. He wore a bit of a casual suit with a lab coat. On the right side of his chest, was a Wayne Tech symbol. He had started interning there just three months ago as an assistant to Lucius Fox. Mostly in Cyber Security and the occasional work in the Research and Development division.

He had rectangle glasses on and his hair was styled so that it didn't look like he just rolled out of bed this morning.

"Morning Elliot." She smiled as she took her seat at the small dinner table.

"Hey, Soph." He looked back at her fondly. "Give me a minute. I'm almost done with the eggs."

He platted the eggs and grabbed a tiny cup, went around the kitchen island that was smack dab in front of the way to the table, and placed the plate in front of her with the small cup.

There was already apple juice in front of her. She looked down at her plate as saw that there were two sunny side up eggs, seasoned with salt and pepper, two floppy strips of bacon and a biscuit with raspberry jam on it. The tiny cup however had 3 pills in there. One for anxiety, one for focus, and the last one was a multivitamin.

She huffed and spoke in a creepy way, "Hello my allies, are you ready to work magic on my broken mind?" She wiggled her fingers at the tiny cup as if she was performing a spell.

"Stop talking to inanimate objects, Soph, they make you look insane." Elliot laughed at her.

"If I was insane I would have been put into Arkham Asylum by now." She smiled as she took the tiny cup tossed the pills in her mouth, and immediately chugged the apple juice so that she didn't have to taste the pills.

"That, little sister, is a terrifying thought." He said honestly as she sat across from her with his own plate of food. "Although, knowing Arkham, you would find all sorts of crazy damned spirits there, right?"

" _We could do that, but it would take a lot of work."_ Kritanta popped out of the collar of her shirt, her puppy head looking like a bobblehead doll, bright green eyes half lidded in thought. " _While there are spirits and possibly demons there, thus far they haven't caused massive amounts of damage or even try to bring the place down. It's safe to say that we will be fine."_

"You know… I could have lived my whole life without knowing that...thank you, Krit." Elliot said blandly as he paled just a bit.

Sophia raised her eyebrows a bit after taking a bite of her egg.

"We live in a city where supervillains bust out of jail, and cause havoc on a weekly basis, and you are worried about demons and spirits?" She questioned.

"The fact that there is a literal Hell, Purgatory, Heaven, and other places that should have stayed biblical that have basically become a reality, you know, really kinda screws up any kind of normalcy in my life. The things that come with that are damn terrifying." Elliot sighed as he took a swig of his coffee.

"You thought it was cool in the beginning. Especially when you found me trying to do a fire spell. That went over really well." Sophia smirked pointing a fork at him.

"The novelty wore off… and I took the blame for you because God knows what would have happened if mom and dad found out about your little friend there…" Elliot shrugged. "On top of your medical stuff and everything else, they might have done something drastic…"

"Which won't happen anyways." Sophia huffed.

Since her recuperation from being kidnapped, her parents walked on eggshells around her, fearing that one wrong word, one wrong sentence, one slight touch on her body, would send her into an anxiety ridden panic attack or a PTSD flashback. The only one who accepted her and still treated her like normal was Elliot.

There were nights when she couldn't sleep, couldn't stay alone in her bedroom for too long, and having a hellhound inhabiting her body and getting used to that, it was Elliot who would let her crawl into his bed and she would sleep soundly throughout the night. He was the only person she could trust steadfastly.

He has been her rock and anchor for the past five years. Despite the age difference between them, he had become her sole caretaker. Her parents, though they dearly loved her, still treat her like a stranger on the street.

"So, new school starts in an hour. Want me to take you there? It's on the way to Wayne Tech." Elliot finished up his food.

"I was thinking of walking to school today…" She poked at her eggs before she devoured them.

"You think you can do that? There are crowds out there, and I know you still flinch when someone bumps into you." Elliot spoke before drinking his milk. "You've gotten better, I admit, but don't you want to take this slow?"

Sophia looked down at the puppy head that was Kritanta. Kritanta was looking up at her and gave her a brief nod.

"I have Kritanta to keep me from getting too nervous, and I took my meds. So I should be good for the day." Sophia spoke confidently.

Elliot was silent for a few minutes, weighing in on her words before nodding.

"If you say so… you can always call me if you need me. Mr. Fox is an understanding guy, he wants to meet you eventually." Elliot said as he picked up his empty plate and cup and taking it to the sink.

Sophia quickly finished up her meal, Kritanta took her last piece of bacon and gobbled it up greedily. She took her plates to the sink for them to be washed later, and she went to the living room where she had her backpack and blazer for school.

She grabbed them, put them on and double checked if she needed anything else.

"Do you have your mini-taser on you?" Elliot called from the kitchen.

"Why would I need that when I have Krit?" She answered back with a smile.

"You are still human! Take the taser just in case. I modified it to give it a much more nasty shock than what the police use." Elliot smiled proudly at himself. "I mean...I know you have been doing this for a while, but you are still my baby sister."

He walked up to her and slowly wrapped his arms around her short frame and pulled her to him in a soft hug. She put her face in her brother's chest, smelling the cologne that he has always prefered. Old Spice. She hugged him back tightly and smiled.

"I'll be fine...I promise. If I feel uncomfortable walking to school today, I'll let you drive me. Okay?" She looked up at him still hugging him.

"Sounds like a plan to me." He chuckled as he placed a hand on her head, careful to not mess up her hair.

The two siblings split apart after their hug.

"I do have something for you, before you leave the place." Elliot smiled as he reached for his pocket.

"A present?" Sophia raised a brow.

" _Is it chocolate covered strawberries?"_ Kritanta spoke as she popped out of Sophia's collar again.

Elliot chuckled and shook his head.

"No… I figured you would like it. I know we are not particularly religious, but I saw this the other day and I think you would like it." He smiled as he held out his hand and opened it up.

She looked down at his open palm and saw a necklace. It was a holy cross necklace. It didn't have the figure of Christ on it, but it was still a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. There was three pale blue stones shaped in triangles pointing inwards on the top parts of it. It was about the size of her pinkie finger, but she smiled widely.

"I know that it looks expensive, but I figured…" He was cut off.

"Elliot, thank you." She took the silver necklace and put it around her neck, avoiding Kritanta on her shoulder, and laid it inside of her shirt.

It rested on her sternum perfectly and she felt warmed by her brother's thoughtfulness.

"I love it. I don't think I'll ever take it off." She smiled and gave him a big hug.

"Well, I'm glad you like it. I just figured that this can be your first day of school present. Just be careful." He said as he hugged her back.

"I will." She said as she stepped back and put on her backpack.

She grabbed her cell phone and headphones and put the earbuds in her ears. She accessed her music and turned on Queen's Under Pressure.

"I love you, Elliot." She spoke as the beginning notes started up.

Kritanta absorbed herself into Sophie's body and took residence in her head to listen to the music.

"Love you too, Sophia…" Elliots said as he opened up the door.

She left the apartment with a smile and waved goodbye at him before taking off down the stairs, with Under Pressure blaring in her ears.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunbell27: Well that took me long enough. The second part of this chapter will come up soon. But I've been putting the first part off long enough and I really wanted to get the ball rolling. I hope that you liked this part of the chapter that describes her home life with her brother and her little friend. Her parents are out of the picture (Alive I might add) but even after 5 years they still treat her like a porcelain doll ready to break, which is why she is living with her brother because he gives her more stability and helps her with routine and makes sure she takes her medicine. As for Kritanta, if you would like a better description of her, just imagine that her and Sophia's relationship is similar to Venom and Eddie Brock, without the biting off people heads and and insatiable desire to eat chocolate; instead of black goo, just think of shadows literally coming to life. XD So yes, I do give a little bit of credit for the idea from Venom. :) And don't worry, Damian will be coming into play soon.
> 
> There's not much for shout outs due to the lack of reviews. Please leave awesome reviews and opinions of the story so far! I would love to hear from you guys and i would love to respond to any questions you may have! See you in the Next Chapter! :D
> 
> Question Time!: If you were to give a theme song to your favorite Batman Characters, what would they be? Mine is Jason Todd's (Stronger by Empathetic or Sound of Madness by Shinedown), and Damian Wayne's (I am Machine By Three Days Grace or Dance with the Devil by Breaking Benjamin). Great songs great comparisons. :)
> 
> KEEP ON READING AND WRITING! :D

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I wanted to try my hand at truly making an Original Character in the DC Universe. Why? Because it would stretch out my writing muscles and i want to be on my way to give this a shot. It might still be Fan Fiction in many ways, but I still want to make this as original as possible. So be gentle with me (Or rough, either way), and I would love to hear what you guys would think. The tags for this story won't do this justice really. I have a plan for many Original characters that will pop up here, and Gotham is just one of these places where they would be. As for the lore of the Hellhounds, you'll get to see them eventually, but lets have fun on this ride. Again, it's a bit of a slow burn type of story because our main characters (Damian and Sophia) are in High School. Also, ages are a bit sketchy so I figured it would go like this: Sophia - 16, Damian - 16, Tim - 22, Jason - 24, and Dick - 27. Bruce...well lets make him forever 45 shall we? As for Alfred, well he keeps his age close to the chest, so I'm not going there.
> 
> You might be thinking, what the hell I'm going with this story, you'll find out soon enough. I do give credit for taking an Idea from Venom. I thought it would be a cool idea. I hope you guys liked this first chapter and hit me with what you think you will be seeing in this story, we will see other awesome characters of whom I shall not name (it should be obvious in the tags), and OCs that you will either love, hate, or love to hate or vice versa. XD I'm making a mix of the comics, the Animated Series/Movies, and a sprinkle of Arkham Series in this. I'm not very knowledgable about the comics, but I do my best to stick to canon. I hope you enjoy the ride! :D
> 
> Question Time!: What Character do you like the most in Batman? I think it's obvious that I love Jason Todd and Damian Wayne here. ;) I love my bad boys. 
> 
> KEEP ON READING AND WRITING!


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